US military disables ad trackers on phones, computers over Middle East targeting concerns: Report | Today’s news
The US military has disabled ad trackers on a number of phones and computers used by its personnel over concerns that commercially available location data could be used to track and target US forces in the Middle East, Britain’s Reuters news agency reported. exclusive news.
The move was disclosed in letters released Friday by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and in statements provided by military officials to Reuters.
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The U.S. Air Force told Wyden it had disabled advertising identifiers on computers and cell phones two months ago. US Special Operations Command said it “recently” disabled identifiers on its Windows devices.
The military told Reuters that the advertising IDs tied to mobile devices had been disabled since earlier this year. It said the identifiers were already blocked on Windows PCs before 2021, while they were disabled by default on Android and Apple mobile devices since at least February 2026.
Similar letters from the Army and Navy to Wyden said Advertising ID was banned from military installations, although the Navy did not specify when the restrictions were put in place, Reuters reported. The Navy did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Why does this concern the US military?
The disclosures underscore a growing national security concern: that location data collected by the advertising industry and sold to data brokers — companies that collect and resell personal data — could be used to track and target military personnel deployed in war zones, the news agency said.
The measures reflect growing concerns about the commercial trade in location data, according to the report.
Advertising companies collect information about users and their devices, while data brokers compile and sell this information to third parties. In some cases, the data can reveal a person’s location and movement.
This raised national security concerns, as such information could potentially be used to locate military personnel deployed in areas of conflict.
Mobile advertising IDs, commonly known as MAIDs, are unique identifiers associated with individual devices. They can be used to track activity across mobile apps and help determine the physical location of a device.
Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has been pressing the Pentagon on the issue for months.
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On Friday, Wyden and Republican U.S. Representative Pat Harrigan called on the Pentagon to investigate whether the military has adequately addressed the risks posed by the commercial market for location data.
Wyden said the military’s efforts “were not effective in neutralizing this threat.”
Harrigan said U.S. adversaries “should not be able to pull out a credit card and buy information to help them track U.S. soldiers.”
The Pentagon said it would respond directly to lawmakers.
Increasing restrictions on phones
The move comes as the US military considers broader restrictions on smartphone use by personnel deployed in the Middle East.
Reuters reported in July that some US troops in the region could be ordered to hand over their phones amid concerns that videos posted online by military personnel could provide information that could help Iran target US bases.
However, deactivating advertising IDs may not completely eliminate the risk of tracking.
Zach Edwards, co-founder of privacy firm Decryptads, said disabling MAID on military devices is “definitely positive.”
But he warned that soldiers could still potentially be tracked by other methods, including apps or combining technical device information with network and location data.
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Banning MAID is definitely a positive thing, but the risks of surveillance still remain.
The latest measures are therefore part of a broader effort by the US military to limit the amount of location information generated by devices used by its personnel, particularly those deployed in active conflict zones.
